Thanks much to the Meadowlands Commission’s Parks Department for providing this nifty feature.

The Hackensack River’s modern name may stem from one of two Lenape phases: Hackink Saquik, meaning “a stream that unites with another on low ground” or Hocquan Sakuwit, meaning “hooked mouth of a river.”

Both reference the River’s curving junction with the Passaic River at Newark Bay.

The name may also be derived from the Lenape word, Hackingh, meaning “land of the pipe” from the clay material found in the meadows and used in pipe making.

(Reference: Fields of Sun & Grass by John Quinn)